A San Francisco based food and restaurant blog

Tag Archives: traderjoes

I was driving to Trader Joe’s yesterday morning when the radio talk hosts caught my attention. First, they asked how people thought the world would end. I fumbled around with a few answers in my head before the host proposed an asteroid crashing on to our planet. He also mentioned that the international government probably wouldn’t announce their findings to ensure chaos to be kept under control. Although I understand why, I’d be kind of bummed to find out that I had a month to do whatever I want.

What would I do, though? Travel? Lay outside all day? Reveal my deepest darkest secrets? Honestly, I’d probably live my life like normal just incase the astronomers were wrong. Totally random, but the question has been in the back of my mind all day.

Obligatory picture of my new grocery tote. I felt wrong wearing my Whole Food reusable bag at Trader Joe’s. But it has rainbow ice cream and donations help support SF Pride. #firstworldproblems

(P.S. Did you know San Francisco charges 10 cents a bag, if you don’t bring your own? Kind of cool and annoying at the same time because I ALWAYS forget my bag(s) at home.)

Chi is a cheese lover so I picked up an assortment of Spanish cheeses and parma prosciutto. I literally couldn’t finish my sentence before he raced to the refrigerator to make a plate. No lie.

I bought too much chorizo for my recipe, so I made Chorizo Breakfast Burritos for brunch and saved a serving for Chi to eat when he stopped home for lunch. I could of gone for three burritos, but I stopped at two. Thank goodness for my self control, phew. (Being sarcastic).

I was eating in the lunchroom at work on Friday when my coworker, Al, brought lentil soup that he made the night before. I made him give me a bite and it was so good! He told me his mom use to make it for him all the time. I knew I had to recreate it for my recipe this week.

Chorizo Lentil Soup

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

.75 Lbs Chorizo

2 Cups Dried Lentils

1 Russet Potato, chopped

1 Medium Onion, diced

3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped

3 Cloves Garlic, diced

6 Cups Chicken/Vegetable broth

1 Cup water

Fresh Basil

1/3 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 Tsp Oregano

Salt and Pepper, to taste

TO PREP

1. Chop the washed potato and tomatoes, dice the onion and garlic.

2. Throw in the tomatoes and onion in a pan on medium heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then throw in the potatoes and chorizo for 8 minutes. Take 3 leaves of basil and rip little pieces into the pan. Stir occasionally.

TO COOK

3. Wash 2 cups of lentils. In a pot on high, pour in the broth and water. Add in the lentils. When broth is boiling, reduce heat to low. Stir in all the ingredients from the pan and mix.

4. Add in thyme, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Taste the broth until the flavor fits your needs. Stir and let the pot sit on low for ~50 minutes, until lentils and potatoes are the correct texture. Soft but not mushy.

5. Serve with fresh basil and top with queso fresco for garnish! This would be delicious with a side of crostini. 🙂

How do you think the world will end? How can I remember to bring my reusable bags with me?

Feels so good to finally be home and settled from our mini trip to So Cal. It was great to finally get out the city but it’s always nice to sleep in your own bed. This time I did not forget to pack anything either! So proud of myself. We finally got back home on Saturday night, around 11:30 PM. Luckily, I didn’t have to work the next day (although I can’t say the same for poor Chi).

When I woke up on Saturday, I showered and got ready really quick to drive to the Marina and hang out with my friend Rocio while her boyfriend worked at Toma for a few hours. We set off to drain our wallets at Lululemon and eat brunch, followed by a SusieCakes mini cupcake treat.

I found an awesome running jacket on the sale rack that I can’t wait to wear this week! I also bought a headband and running tank. I’m working out a lot more now and find doing laundry every few days to be a bit exhausting.

We ate at Brixton on Union Street and shared two entrees, leaving enough room for sweet and salty in our mouths.

The first plate to come out was the Carnitas Hash, beer braised sautéed with yukon gold potatoes and topped with tortilla strips, avocado mousse, cilantro and a poached egg. Rocio and I were obsessed with it, I’m not usually a huge fan of Carnitas because I find it very rich, but I was so happy we ordered this plate.

Next was the Crispix Crusted Stuffed French Toast. This dish was a plain brioche stuff with nutella and sliced bananas, dredged in their own batter and grilled with crispix cereal crumbs. What a mouthful. Nutella and bananas are an instant hit with me, the only thing that could of made this better was to add strawberries on top.

After, we walked around Union St. for a bit before heading back to Toma and picking up Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes along the way. I said my goodbyes and drove the 45 minute drive to Concord to celebrate one of my best friend’s birthdays. She didn’t want to do anything fancy so we just some good ol’ Chinese in downtown Walnut Creek.

I honestly forgot where we ate already, but here’s the Spicy Basil Chicken,

and Beef With Broccoli.

Not pictured was three bowls of rice and a heaping plate of garlic noodles, my favorite! The waitress/owner loved us and gave us a free scoop of ice cream each.

I’m not a huge ice cream fan, but I will demolish a good amount of Green Tea or Coffee if given the opportunity.

We swung back to her house for a few hours and then I drove the long ride home. Chi didn’t get home from work until ~11:30 PM, we shared half a burrito and some guac.

I also want you to keep in mind that all the food pictures I took were from the same day + a burrito & a chips. Let’s just say if I had cheat days, Saturday would be considered one.

Sunday, I spent the whole morning kicking my feet in bed until I finally found the courage to go up and buy some groceries for the week. I’m finally getting out of my eating rut and excited to start cooking in the kitchen again. I felt lazy and just drove to Whole Foods, which is a few blocks from my house. Unfortunately, the parking lot was full so I had to trek to Trader Joe’s like I originally planned to.

I find myself buying the same things week after week.

What are your essential food items, any food ideas for me to change my grocery list? Did you have a crazy eating weekend like I did?

Sidenote: I noticed how much I have been eating out, so I put together a Restaurants page in the menu. Check it out!

This past Saturday has been very productive (read: expensive). I usually never have a Saturday off, which means I haven’t had the chance to experience the Ferry Plaza’s Farmers Market in the Embarcadero.

Abby and I really got lucky with the weather, it was forecasted to rain but all we got was blue skies and sun! We got there around 10:30a and started our shopping and browsing at the knick-knack section. These flattened alcohol bottles caught my eye and we ended up buying 3 of them for $20. I have no idea what what I’m going to do with mine, or where I will place it; I somehow always manage to impulse buy. Which one do you think I bought? Hint: It’s green!

After dabbling around at the other booths, we walked to the proper Farmers Market in front of the Ferry Building.

The first booth was selling these beautiful tulips. I was going back and forth between picking up a bunch, but decided against it. Abby bought some in a really pretty coral/salmon color.

These colorful bunches of Swiss Chard grabbed my attention, and the price wasn’t too bad either! I bought a head of Swiss Chard and Kale for $2 each. I also bought a pound of Brussel Sprouts for $5 from another vendor.

We were already hungry, so we headed into the Ferry Building in search of something to eat. This trumpet playing boy had so much character! He was wooing the crowd with his dancing.

There wasn’t that many sit down restaurants, but I did spot this mushroom stand. I love mushrooms, so I definitely appreciated all the different ones available. I will come back for the Chanterelles when I have a chance.

Brunch on a Saturday in San Francisco is a dangerous game to play. Everywhere that is worth it or popular has a 40+ minute wait, so it’s hard to make a decision. Based on a friend’s recommendation, we tried out Olea in Nob Hill.

Olea boasts it’s use of local, fresh produce and sustainable meat and I think it really shows in the menu. Yelp’s general consensus was to try the french toast, so we obliged. Their “french toast” is made with challah custard toast, with korintji cinnamon sugar that’s topped with fresh Mc Ginnis Farms apples. It was absolutely divine, possibly the best french toast I ever had.

We also shared the migas con huevos: soft scrambled eggs with roasted pork tenderloin, tortilla chips, swiss chard and a drizzle of pepper/peanuts sauce and sesame seeds with a side of crostini. I found the sauce to be very interesting, more sweet then I thought it would be.

After filling up, we walked across the street to Trader Joe’s and stocked up for the week. These veggies/fruits are included in my stable diet, and I usually buy these every week.

The meats and pasta I get once in a blue moon. The ground beef was for Sunday dinner and I have plans for a eggs and sausage breakfast sometime this week. I also like to get one frozen pizza for my lazy dinner, and add mushrooms or sausages to spice it up.

The blogging world seems to have an obsession with sunflower butter, so I grabbed one to try.

These are the veggies I purchased at the Farmer’s Market (forgot to include the brussel sprouts). I also grabbed a jar of almond butter, it’s going to taste so good on my rice cakes; I can already imagine it.

I finished unpacking around 3:30p, and just relaxed the rest of the day after a short nap. Chi had to work all night, so I stayed home and watched a movie. Now I’m off to find a tasty recipe on how to cook my brussel sprouts. Any suggestions? 🙂

What are your weekly food staples? Are you a peanut butter or almond butter lover?

TARA CONDELL

Hello, my name is Tara and I am a twenty something year old living life in San Francisco, CA. Follow me while I embark on a journey to become a Registered Dietitian while enjoying my golden years!
To read more about me, click here.

Contact: tara(@)foodandotherthings.com

SUBSCRIBE VIA E-MAIL

Want to catch up with my life but too busy to come back every other day? Sign up for an e-mail subscription so you don't miss another post!

ASPIRING RD

Here is a simplified list of all the things I have to finish before I can successfully have the title of an RD!
1. Get accepted in a Dietetics program2. Finish all my major related classes3. Get accepted into a Dietetic Internship4. Sit for the RD Exam5. Pass and start the beginning of the rest of my life! :)